And we raise hogs???

Not that I dislike pigs or anything, but why aren't we raising cacao? What would it be like to take pounds of chocolate to market every week? We could even make a river of chocolate! Although we would really miss the hog roasts, right Dad and Chris? And the sausage, bacon, and pork chops. Hmm, maybe we could do both.

PACs newest project over the last 3 years or so has been to increase the production of cacao in Nicaragua. The climate is ideal here, it's just that farmers lacked the knowledge and marketing skills. Cacao has very quickly become a great cash crop for 100s of poor farmers, with much hope to expand. Here are a few snapshots of the process...

PAC's agronomists breed the most productive type
of cacao tree to sell to producers.

Farmers bring in freshly harvested cacao.


It's weighed.


And the producer gets paid by the collector. This farmer receieves about $50 a week, a considerable
amount considering average income here is around $20 per week.
Of course he has a family to feed as well.


Finding out more about cacao from producers--there is
a definite excitement about cacao here!

Cacao in crates for the first 8 days of fermentation.


Then moved in a super hot green house to ferment another 8 days.
Wilmur, a cacao producer himself that collects cacao from 15
other local producers in order to ferment it, then resell it.


PAC takes pickup loads of cacao ready to be exported to their storehouses where
it is then sold to an exporter. This pickup load is about
1500 pounds, worth about $1500.
(In comparison, coffee at this stage would be worth about $900).